Bill Kelliher: Mastodon Wants Whoever Joins the Band to “Get Their Input” Into the New Album
We’re all living in a post-Brent-Hinds-in-Mastodon world now, so things with the band have been up in the air as of late. Sure, we’ve seen them play a full show with YouTuber Ben Eller filling in earlier this month, but the band’s got tour dates and a new album on the horizon. What does that mean for whoever’s coming in to replace Hinds full-time?
During a recent interview with Radical Metal, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher said the band’s already put in a lot of work on their follow up to Hushed and Grim. And while we know Hinds will have nothing to do with the new record, Kelliher said he wants whoever joins the band full-time to be ready to contribute to the new record.
“I’m always writing. For the past three years since Hushed And Grim, even though we had a lot of songs leftover from that, I started just writing new shit. We’re like, 65-percent of the way. We have a ton of stuff. Whoever steps into the band, we kinda wanna get their input on some stuff too. We wanna make it as best as we possibly can. People are gonna expect it’s not gonna be as good because we’re missing a member, but… we wanna take our time.
“Loma Vista, our new record company, they’re totally cool with that. They’re like ‘it’ll be done when it’s done.’ So we’re aiming for the end of this year to have it out, or at least have it recorded. I wanna do a lot of demoing on the road, like backstage. Which never really clicked for us, but in this new era, it may be a little bit better for us.”
Starting this May, Mastodon will be joining Coheed and Cambria and Periphery for a U.S. tour that will run from May 10 to June 8. You can find the full list of dates below and get your tickets today.
Mastodon 2025 tour dates
5/8-5/11 – Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
5/10 – Salem, VA @ Salem Civic Center*
5/11 – Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic Coliseum*
5/13 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater*
5/15 – Wilmington, NC @ Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park*
5/16 – Charleston, SC @ Firefly Distillery*
5/15-5/18 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville
5/19 – Estero, FL @ Hertz Arena*
5/21 – Huntsville, AL @ Orion Amphitheater*
5/22 – Lexington, KY @Rupp Arena*
5/24 @ Virginia Beach, VA @ The Dome*
5/25 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater*
5/26 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC*
5/28 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena*
5/30 – Syracuse, NY @ Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview*
5/31 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain*
6/1 – Youngstown, OH @ Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre*
6/3 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum*
6/4 – Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center Arena*
6/6 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena*
6/7 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center*
6/8 – Waukee, IA @ Vibrant Music Hall*
7/3 – Cardiff, UK @ Blackweir Fields
7/3-7/13 – Quebec City, QC – Festival Dete De Quebec
7/5 – Birmingham, UK @ Villa Park %$
7/6 – London, UK @ Finsbury Park %
7/30-8/3 – Rasnov, Romania @ Rockstadt Extreme Fest
7/31 – Szekesfhervar, Hungary @ Fezen Festival
8/7-8/10 – Walton-On-Trent @ Bloodstock Open Air
8/8-8/10 – Kortrijk, Belgium @ Alcatraz Festival
8/15-8/17 – Vallamand, Switzerland @ Rock The Lakes
8/15-8/17 – Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Dynamo Metal Fest
*w/ Coheed and Cambria
% w/ Slayer
$ w/ Ozzy Osbourne
